"Here she is on her first day of kindergarten!" Jade's grandmother says as she turns the page in the photo album spread across both her and Beck's laps "Look at that smile! She was so excited..."
"What are you guys looking at?" Jade asks as she enters the living room "Oh Grandma, c'mon. Don't make him look at that!"
"Why not?" Beck smirks "You were so cute, babe!"
"Whatever, just...stop after like fourth grade." Jade sighs "That's when my awkward phase started."
"Oh, well I have to see the awkward phase!"
"No, you don't."
Beck's first Thanksgiving had gone better than Jade had expected it to. The two of them had arrived at her father's apartment the night before and stayed over to avoid getting stuck in the traffic re-routed from the Macy's parade. Jade had slept in her childhood bedroom, while Beck stayed in the couch in the living room. Her maternal grandparents had stayed in the guest room while her dad's parents drove in from upstate that morning. When she woke up, Beck was already helping John set the table, although the meal wouldn't be for a few hours still. Her father had always had Thanksgiving catered for as long as she could remember, so there was never a lot of preparations that went into the cooking. They hadn't noticed her at first, which gave her the opportunity to eavesdrop on them a bit. She expected her father to be grilling Beck about his show and the ratings, but instead they were talking about their predictions as to which NFL teams would end up playing in the super bowl this year.
Her grandparents adore him, she actually thinks that both of her grandmothers might have small crushes on Beck. They all recognize him from TV and are anxious to talk about the show and what it's like to work on a real television set. They want spoilers about what is going to happen in upcoming episodes and he has to explain to them what an NDA is. Jade reveals to them that she's just as in the dark about what is going to happen as they are, and that shocks them. They understand when she says that she likes to be surprised though, even though the true reason for her not knowing is that she would absolutely spoil plot details for Cat if she knew them.
Beck had been a bit surprised to meet Jade's maternal grandparents, if he's being completely honest with himself. He admires John for maintaining a close relationship with them and still inviting them to holidays for Jade's sake. He supposes he would want to do the same for his children if he had them, especially if he never re-married. Jade explains to him that they usually only come up for Thanksgiving. They retired to North Carolina and prefer to only travel during one major holiday a year. He's happy that he could be there to meet him. He sees a family resemblance in them both that he sees and Jade, and that he doesn't doubt he would see in her mother as well.
"Did you make these?" Beck asks Jade's grandmother, Judy, as they flip the pages in the album
"Yes, I tried my best to keep up with them over the years." Judy sighs "My daughter was never really the crafty type, and John certainly isn't either. I wanted Jade to have memories to hold onto though regardless. This was all before the days of smart phones, remember. Long before you could just search for a picture in your camera roll and have it on your screen in a matter of seconds."
"I'm sure she appreciates having them." Beck tells her, smirking at his girlfriend
"I do." Jade assures them both as she sits down on the opposite side of her grandmother from Beck "There are just a few years of my life I'd like to forget. Like...all of middle school."
"Every year of your life has been precious to the adults that love you, sweetheart." Judy tells her "You'll understand that if you have children of your own one day."
"I'm sure I will." Jade looks amused "But I'd like to think if they asked me not to show them off to their boyfriends or girlfriends, that I wouldn't."
"C'mon babe..." Beck chuckles, looking around Judy to make eye contact with Jade "It's sweet."
They look through the rest of the album, which only spans the elementary school portion of Jade's life, and then Jade returns it to it's place on a shelf beneath the television in the entertainment center. Her father's parents only stick around until the football game they had been watching is over, claiming that they want to make it home before it gets dark, knowing that they'll hit traffic on their way out of the city. Beck and Jade both hug them goodbye, and then John leaves to walk them out to their car. Jade's grandfather is asleep in the chair in the corner, and Judy excuses herself to start packing. She and her husband will be on an early flight home in the morning, and she doesn't want to waste any time.
"Did she show you the first album?" Jade asks once her grandmother is out of earshot
"What do you mean?"
"There's three photo albums so far." Jade explains "That was the second one, it was like all of elementary school. The third one is middle and high school, but the first one is like birth to four. That's the cute one."
"Oh." Beck says "No, she didn't show me that one."
Jade stands up and moves across the room to retrieve a different photo album from the shelf below the entertainment center. She brings it back to the couch and hands it to Beck, an expression on her face that is hard for him to read. He takes it from her and opens it to see her birth announcement on the first page, and then an entire page of newborn pictures following it.
"Aw..." Beck smiles as he looks at the pictures "You've been cute your whole life, huh?"
"I hope baby-me is a different kind of cute than you think current-me is." Jade laughs
"Yes, you know what I meant." Beck chuckles as he flips the page "Oh...is this your mom?"
"Yeah, that's her..." Jade reaches out and touches the picture gently "This was the day I was born, apparently."
If Beck didn't know any better, he would think he's looking at a picture of Jade. The woman in the photograph in front of him holding the newborn looks just like his girlfriend, only with blonde hair and a slightly different nose. They have the same eyes, and the same facial features for the most part. It's almost scary.
"Her name was Kate, right?" Beck clarifies "I dunno, your grandma was talking about 'Katie' earlier."
"Kaitlyn." Jade corrects him "A lot of people called her Kate, but my grandma and my dad called her Katie."
"You look just like her." Beck admits "Seriously, you could have been twins."
"So I've been told, yeah." Jade nods "Can you believe she's younger than we are now in that picture?"
"Crazy." Beck shakes his head "Can you imagine having a two year-old right now?"
"No." Jade scoffs "Thank god I don't. I dunno how they did it honestly."
"Well, they did something right." Beck nudges her arm gently before learning in for a kiss "Because you turned out pretty great."
"I swear to god, your grandfather gets more and more ornery about New York traffic every year." John announces as he re-enters the apartment "It's almost like he's never been here before..."
"Bitching about the garage exit again?" Jade asks, closing the album
"Sure was..." John sighs "When I start acting like that, tell me. Maybe I'll be able to turn it around before it becomes my whole personality like it has for him."
"He seemed pretty pleasant to me." Beck shrugs
"And he always will be to you, because you're important to Jade and Jade is the light of his life." John tells him "S'what happens when you're the only grandchild."
"You don't have any cousins?" Beck asks
"Not biological ones." Jade shakes her head
"Oh."
"You guys lookin' at your baby album?" John asks, eyeing the album on his daughter's lap
"Uh, yeah..." Jade says "We were just putting it away though."
"We were?"
"We were."
"You don't have to act like it doesn't exist, Jade." John tells her "I want you to look at that stuff. I want you to remember your mom."
"I hate it when you look sad though..." Jade admits
"It'd be a bit more concerning if I wasn't sad, don't you think?" John points out "There's not a day that goes by where I don't miss your mother, Jade...especially on days like today. But that doesn't mean we should pretend that she never existed."
"You're right..." Jade agrees "Thanks, Dad."
"Of course." John nods "Hey, Beck?"
"Yes?"
"Wanna see her pictures from middle school?"
"Dad!"
"Of course I do." Beck smirks "Just show me the way."
After quite a bit of debate back and forth, Beck and Jade end up spending Christmas apart. Neither one of them wanted to make changes to the plans that had become traditional for them. Jade has always spent it with her father and her grandparents, even when she was dating Marcus. Beck has always spent it in Vancouver with his parents and his extended family. Both of them wanted to include each other in their own plans, but neither wanted to be away from their families either.
Jade knew that spending the holiday apart from her father would make him sad, as they had never spent it away from one another even once in her entire life. She had suggested that Beck fly his parents out to spend Christmas in New York with them, as they had yet to visit them in the city. Beck knew that his parents wouldn't want to miss out on the family celebrations in Canada, and suggested that Jade and her father and his parents travel to Canada with him to join them. Jade didn't want to impose on Beck's family, and wasn't sure her father would find it appropriate anyway given that they had only been dating for less than a year.
After quite a bit of back and forth about what to do, it was finally decided that Beck would travel to Vancouver to see his family like he had always planned, and Jade would join him there on the 26th. He would still get to introduce her to all of the important people in his life, and she wouldn't have to worry about her father being alone on the holiday.
"I missed you!" Beck tells Jade as he wraps her up in a hug, picking her up off of the ground and spinning her a few times before placing her down again "How was your flight?"
"Long..." Jade admits "I'm happy to see you."
The flight had been over six hours, and due to her late booking she had ended up in a middle seat.
"I'm happy to see you too." Beck grins, picking up Jade's bag for her "C'mon, everyone is really excited to meet you."
Beck had borrowed his grandfather's car to come and pick Jade up from the airport, and as they drive he explains that they'll be staying with his father's parents. A lot of his other family still lives in the area, so she'll meet a lot of them as well, but right off the bat she'll be meeting his parents and grandparents.
"Oh my goodness!" Beck's grandmother, Susan Oliver, exclaims when he and Jade walk through the front door "You're even prettier in person, sweetheart!"
"Oh!" Jade is surprised that Susan hugs her almost immediately "Well...thank you."
"I hope my grandson is taking good care of you."
"He is." Jade assures her "He's wonderful."
"How much did he pay you to say that?" An older man laughs as he appears in the entryway "Charlie Oliver, nice to meet ya. I'm Beck's grandpa."
"Nice to meet you as well." Jade smiles as she shakes his hand "He's told me a lot about you both."
"All good things, I hope."
"Yes, your grandson thinks the world of you."
"Alright, let her get in the door guys." Beck laughs "Jade, these are my grandparents..."
"I gathered." Jade laughs
Beck sets Jade's bags down by the door and they both kick their shoes off before removing their coats and moving further into the house. Beck takes Jade's hand and leads her into the living room, where a middle-aged couple is watching TV. Jade can only assume that these are his parents.
"Mom, Dad..." Beck makes his presence known as they enter the room "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Jade."
"Jade..." His father smiles, standing up from his chair and moving towards them "S'nice to finally meet you. My son has been talking about you nonstop for days now."
"Oh?" Jade looks to Beck, and he shrugs
"James Oliver." His father extends his hand to her "You can call me James too."
"Nice to meet you, James." Jade smiles as she shakes his hand "And you must be Beck's mom?"
"Mrs. Oliver to you." His mother, Priya, tells her "At least for now."
"Of course, Mrs. Oliver."
"Will you guys be okay while I run the bags upstairs?" Beck asks the entire group but directs his gaze to Jade, caring about her answer the most
"We'll be okay." She nods
"Okay, cool." Beck kisses her on the cheek quickly "I'll be right back!"
"So, Beck tells us you're in school?" Priya says to Jade
"Yes, for a few more months still." Jade nods "I'll graduate at the beginning of May."
"Good for you." Priya seems impressed "It's important to have an education."
"I agree."
"I'm not so sure my wife has ever forgiven Beck for dropping out of college all those years ago." James admits "She was livid with him when he did...not livid enough to kick him out of his RV, but pretty livid."
"Like I said, an education is important."
"Things worked out pretty well for him though." Jade points out "He's on the second highest-rated show on his network."
"Yes, that's true..." Priya nods "He ended up exactly where he wants to be, I just wish that-"
"He's doing fine, Pri." James places a hand on his wife's shoulder "And he's happy, that's all that is important."
They make small talk for a few more minutes until Beck returns, bringing his grandparents into the living room with him. Charlie suggests that they play a game, and the group ends up settling on Monopoly. They set the board up on the coffee table, with Beck, Jade and James sitting on the floor while the others take the couch.
Priya can't help but notice how sweet her son is with his girlfriend, how well he treats her and how kind he is. It's not that she didn't think he didn't have the capability to be this way, it's just that Jade seems like such a better fit for him than any other girl he's dated before. The way they laugh and joke with each other, the way they kiss each other on the cheek when they think no one will notice...it's all very...well, sweet. Priya decides that she likes Jade, because she brings out the very best in Beck. She isn't sure if Beck has told Jade, and she doesn't want to be the one to do it if he hasn't, but she's the first girl he's ever brought to Canada to meet his family. The fact that he's done it so soon in their relationship, and she considers less than a year to be 'soon', well...he must be pretty serious about her.
"You didn't want to ring in the New Year with your grandparents?" Jade teases as she and Beck walk hand-in-hand through downtown Vancouver
"No, I think we've spent enough time with them this week." Beck admits "Besides, I wanted us to go out and have some young person fun tonight."
"Can't wait." Jade smirks as they step inside the building
The restaurant really isn't any different than one they might go to in New York, but Jade agrees it's a much more suitable place to ring in the new year than his grandparents' living room would be. Beck's family is great, and she's been getting along great with them, but it will be nice to have some alone time as a couple.
"Hang on..." Jade's phone starts to ring as the waiter is showing them to their table "Oh, it's Cat trying to FaceTime. It's midnight there already, she's probably drunk."
"Go ahead and answer it..." Beck laughs "She wants to wish you happy new year."
"Hey Cat." Jade answers "Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year, Jadey!" Cat squeals "Look!"
Cat holds her hand up to the camera to reveal a decently-sized diamond ring.
"Shut up!" Jade gasps "Did he?"
"Right at midnight!" Cat grins "Jadey! I'm getting married!"
"Congratulations, Cat!" Jade tells her genuinely "I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you..." Cat smiles "Sorry to make this short, but I've gotta call my mom!"
"You called me before you called your mom?"
"Duh, you're my best friend!" Cat tells her "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Love you byeeeeee!"
"Bye..." Jade laughs as the call ends, then turns to Beck "Cat and Robbie just got engaged."
"That's awesome!" Beck smiles "I bet Cat's excited."
"Seemed that way, yeah." Jade tells him as they sit down at their table "Wanna be my date to the wedding?"
"Of course I do." Beck says "Just tell me when, and I'll make sure that I'm free."
"Good, otherwise I'll have to have to take my other boyfriend." Jade teases him "That would be awkward."
"Very funny."
They spend the rest of the night eating, drinking, and dancing. As the MC makes the announcement that it's ten minutes to midnight, Jade finds herself reflecting on the past year of her life, and how different of a place she had been in a year ago. She's so much happier now, she decides, and a lot of that has to do with the past seven months with Beck.
"I love you..." Beck tells her as the countdown begins "The past year has been the best year of my life for a lot of reasons, but the most important one is you."
"You've been the best part of my year too." Jade admits "I love you."
"I love you too." Beck grins
The clock strikes midnight and the restaurant erupts into cheers and a chorus of 'happy new years' as Beck and Jade lean in to share a kiss, smiles forming on both of their lips as they do so.
"To an even better year!" Beck has to yell over the noise of the people around them
"May it be our best yet!" Jade agrees, leaning in to kiss him again